Day: January 31, 2014

taped 2013-12-10 @ Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
Sagrado, Solar I, Stuka Jr. vs Negro Navarro, Olímpico, Psyco Ripper: good different style match. The CMLL regulars aren’t the first four guys you’d choice for a match of this kind, but they did okay here. Olímpico and Sagrado did a little better than the other two. Solar and Navarro seemed to be working faster than usual, with Solar never really getting on a hold for too long except for the first fall submission; maybe because it was a TV match and they didn’t have as much time to work with? Match wasn’t money throwing in good, but they’ve successfully trained the people that they’re supposed to throw in money every time Solar and Negro Navarro have a match.

Casas sneakiness

taped 2013-12-15 @ Arena Mexico

Súper Halcón Jr. vs Cancerbero in a lightning match: decent lightning match. Cancerbero is good, Halcón has good matches, and these two have faced each other in trios a decent amount, but they didn’t have much of a flow in this match and it wasn’t as interesting as it should be. Nothing bad, but easily skippable.

Atlantis, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Felino, Negro Casas, Pierroth: Build up trios match with little value in isolation. Just really Negro Casas attacking Volador’s right knee repeatedly while the other four guys exist (if sometimes barely.) It would be a good way to make Volador sympathetic if anyone was willing to boo Negro Casas. They probably should stop whipping Volador when he’s meant to be selling his knee, but he did do his dive on his own so I guess it’s not so important. Next week’s match should be interesting, this really wasn’t.

Air Date: 02/08. This appeared to be a quick show – starting after 9 PM and finishing around 1130 – so it figures to be a one taping show.

The show began with a tribute to Mini Chessman.

Gimnasio Agustin Millan appeared to be very full. It’s a 2,500 seat building, though one side was cut off by the entrance set (and seemed less occupied as a result.)

This is La Parka (II)’s seventh Rey de Reyes finals. That includes many years where there was just one round. He hasn’t made it this far since 2009.

I don’t understand how two guys can be counted out in an elimination match when there’s other people fighting in the ring, but this is the third or fourth time it’s happened in the last couple of years so I’m less surprised by it. I wonder if this means they’ll have to find some other way around it next round. I still believe they’d be better off making all of these sort of matches single fall so they wouldn’t have to use such measures to avoid eliminating people.

Mesias was pictured as hurt on the Guerrero Negro taping, but not much was made of it then. They appeared to use it here to build up a Zorro/Mesias feud. Argenis being involved in the main event seems like very obvious foreshadowing, but it’s a bit weird Electroshock came to the show to replace Mesias but didn’t show up until Argenis got beat up. Maybe he thought he’d give the kid a chance until he realized he was making a terrible decision.

Tercera seemed like a heavy tease to Fenix/Fantasma. It should set up a match at Rey de Reyes, but they were teasing that match last year and didn’t get to it. Wait and see.

Hijo del Tirantes, the plot device masquerading as a referee, helped Cuervo get a title shot here after costing him a title shot in Naucalpan. Evil referees are a played out trope, but even those are better than inconsistent referees. It’s hard to care about a story when the elements change week to week.

Like this:

Table are good ways to fill up blank spaces on slow days. A look back at the history of tonight’s Gran Alternativa particpants

Novato

# of GA

Best Finish

Oro Jr.

2

R16

Guerrero Negro Jr.

2

QF

Soberano Jr.

2

SF

El Rebelde

1

Hombre Bala Jr.

4

Runner Up

Akuma

2

R16

Cachorro

1

Espanto Jr.

2

QF

Veteran

La Sombra

5

2007 winner (novato) w/Mistico I

Terrible

5

2011 winner (veteran) w/Euforia

Volador Jr.

9

SF

Averno

5

SF

Maximo

5

QF – has never won a match

Rey Bucanero

7

1996 (2) winner (novato) w/Emilio Charles Jr.

Blue Panther

9

1999 (1) winner (veteran) w/Ultimo Guerrero

Mephisto

9

Runner Up

Those numbers don’t include the 1998 missing tournament (but do include the not totally clear 2003 one.) Rencor Latino had to be in that 1998 one, just because it’s crazy to believe Averno wasn’t in any part of Gran Alternativa until 2009. Also, the Palacio Negro/Averno team made no sense at the time and looks even weirder now. They really had no idea what they had in that novato.

Tonight’s field seems very unbalanced – the four tecnico teams all look to have better chances than the rudo teams. Guerrero Negro Jr. has much more experience than most of the guys involved and would fit in on a higher level, but remains a great candidate for a new character and there’s no sense in using him a lot until they come up with one. Rebelde is making an unheralded debut and Espanto and Akuma are struggling in the openers in many senses of the word. I think Akuma’s passed Espanto at this point but neither seems ready for more right now.

Hombre Bala Jr. seems like the on paper favorite; he almost won last year, is steadily moving up the card anyway and seems the most ready of the people involved. He’s almost over qualified; it would be a bigger deal win for someone else, so someone else might get it. (He’s also stuck with the wrong partner.) Oro Jr. & Soberano Jr. are very young but very talented and in need of something to break them out. (Those two feel like they’re two guys fighting for one spot – though maybe they’d be better as a team at the moment.) Cachorro has looked good in his first few matches, but it’d be a big surprise if he won this tournament that quickly. I have a weird feeling Sombra & Oro are winning this block, but have nothing to back it up.

The entire tournament should air on Terra; that’s how they handled the last tournament. There’s not a lot of consistency in these things but there’s no reason to skip it. I have no idea how it’ll work on TV, since they can’t quite fit an elimination tournament and two trios in an hour. They’d be better off with highlights and the block final.

The actual main event of tonight’s Arena Mexico show has Shocker on the rudo side, teaming with Mr. Niebla & Ultimo Guerrero of all people, facing Atlantis, La Mascara and Rush. That should include a tease for Shocker/Rush at Gran Alternativa. There’s a women’s match (which should follow up on Dalys/Marcela) and the debut of Kamaitachi. Stukita makes an appearance in the opener.

Sin Cara will work WWL shows. No dates are announced; it’s not clear if it’s the March tour or some other time. This seemed obvious once Sin Cara was free to work other shows; WWL will pay lots of money to bring in the wrestlers they want to see, and Sin Cara will gladly take money. Also in WWL news, X-Fly talks about Sabu.

Diario Irapuato writes about the biggest matches in the history of Arena Mexico. (This may be a repeat.)